Celebrity

Celebrity

Dr. Maya Angelou's Life In Pictures

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the death of the iconic poet Dr. Maya Angelou. Born Marguerite Johnson and later, nicknamed “Maya” by her older brother, Dr. Maya Angelou was a dancer, a singer, a model, a social activist and also, a teenage mother. She lived an expansive life, traversed the globe and influenced everyone from presidents and celebrities to students. Rest in Peace, Dr. Angelou.

ESSENCE.COMMay, 28, 2015

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The Beginning

Dr. Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. She was later, nicknamed “Maya” by her older brother

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Gene Lester/Getty Images

Dancing Queen

She began her career as a dancer and singer. She released the album Miss Calypso in 1957.

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Strike A Pose

A young Dr. Maya Angelou strikes a dance pose.

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Ap Photo

Woman of the Year

Dr. Angelou poses with U.S. First Lady Betty Ford and five other women who took part in the taping of the television special presentation of Ladies' Home Journal "Woman of the Year 1976" in New York City.

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AP Photo/Rob Schoenbaum

And She Cooks

An avid cook, Dr. Angelou published two cokbooks, Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories With Recipes (2005) and Great Food, All Day Long (2010).

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AP Photo

Fly With Me

A 6-foot-tall multi-talented presence, Dr. Angelou was hired as Hollywood's first Black woman movie director in 1971 when she directed the film adaptation of her 1969 autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Fighting Spirit

While living in Accra, Ghana in the 60s, Dr. Angelou became close friends with Malcolm X. She helped him launch the Organization of Afro-American Unity in 1965 shortly before he was assassinated.

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Fotos INternational/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Movie Magic

Dr. Angelou was also an actress. Here she and actress Cicely Tyson look lovingly at a baby in a scene from the television mini series Roots in 1977.

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James M. Thresher/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Girl Power

Maya Angelou and Gloria Steinem attend a March on Washington on August 27, 1983.

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Don Perdue/Liaison

Back Home

Dr. Angelou moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina in the mid-80s. It is where she passed away on May 28, 2014.

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Marlene Wallace/Getty Images

Earth Angel

The beloved poet and author tends to her garden in this undated file photo taken in 1988 in Pacific Palisades, CA.

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ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images

Hard At Work

Dr. Angelou met Oprah Winfrey in the 1970s when Winfrey worked as a TV anchor in Baltimore. Their friendship would last for decades. They starred in the ABC TV movie There Are No Children Here in 1993.

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Consolidated News Pictures/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

International Spotlight

Dr. Angelou recited her poem 'On the Pulse of Morning' at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton in Washington DC, on January 20, 1993.

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JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

Saying Goodbye

Dr. Angelou speaks while attending the funeral service for fellow civil rights icon Dr. Dorothy Height at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC in 2010.

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Steve Exum/Getty Images

Birthday Beauty

Dr. Angelou celebrated her 82nd birthday in 2010 with a garden party at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Friends like director Lee Daniels were in attendance.